Chapter 50

"You're injured?"

"…Yes."

As she heard his timid answer, Reina immediately strode up to Elijah.

"Let me see."

"..."

Surprised by the unexpected act of kindness, he unconsciously tucked his ankle away from her.

'Still keeping your distance despite being injured, I see.'

What's up with all this vigilance?

"This medicine is a little different from poison."

"..."

Nevertheless, Reina continued to speak to the injured man with a soft voice, as if he was a wounded animal.

"Overdosing on it would elicit the same effects as a poison that could kill someone, but as long as it's used moderately and with the right amount, it can be used as an anesthetic. So come on, let me see."

Elijah knew that Reina was right.

"..."

He hesitated for a while, but eventually, he stuck out his ankle to show her. She quickly examined the swollen ankle.

"I don't think you broke any bones. Does it hurt when you aren't moving?"

"…No."

"Then it's not a major injury."

"…Yes."

She conjured up a watered-down version of her poison at one fingertip, and she brought it to the front of Elijah's lips.

Seeing this, he looked like a deer in front of headlights.

"Just stick out the tip of your tongue and take this."

"..."

"It's poison that'll serve as a painkiller. It's heavily diluted—less than one hundredth of the lethal dose."

"…I'm fine."

Fine, my butt. Elijah was from a household with an extensive history in knighthood, its descendants handling swords for generations on end. A guy like him being in pain to the point that he had to drop to the ground? He's definitely not fine.

"Even though it doesn't look like you can walk for a while?"

When Reina asked, he still remained unresponsive.

'You're going to stay up all night here at this rate.'

In the end, Reina got so overcome by frustration that she let out an order—but not really an order—with a very firm voice.

"Just so you know, I don't have the strength to carry you back. So just open up."

And so, the hesitant patient reluctantly stuck out the tip of his red tongue and then very slightly licked the tip of the woman's finger.

Reina flinched unconsciously as she felt the tip of his tongue. It's softer than she initially thought.

At this, Elijah was also startled and he immediately pulled back his tongue.

"…Sorry."

Momentarily observing the man's face, which was already so bright red that it looked like he was going to explode, Reina smirked a little.

Elijah Jehardt.

He's one of the children of the nine households, but he couldn't even join the cast of 「 Not There, Count! 」 as a side character.

'He doesn't seem to fit the author's taste, I guess?'

Although he was the heir to his aristocratic household—a family that was perhaps the fourth or fifth most prominent household in the whole empire, as a matter of fact—there was little to no description of him in the entire novel.

Thanks to that, he was the kind of character that Reina didn't pay any mind to the most.

Besides that, ever since she recovered her previous life's memories, she never met him anywhere. That's why he was more of a stranger to her compared to the newcomer employees of the Chantra townhouse.

Reina's eyes closely observed the man's pale, clear skin that seemed like it would smell like clean soap.

'I didn't know before, but… seems like this guy isn't that bad?'

No, rather, he was quite magnificent.

"Hm…"

With silver hair that was nearly white, droopy eyes that's like a puppy's, and—on top of that—an innocent face to match his pale skin and angular jawline…

"Hmmm…"

If she were to be perfectly honest, the guy's handsome.

There's just one thing: he doesn't suit her taste.

Reina's preference was consistent—someone mature who she could rely on. Ethan fits the bill, of course.

On the other hand, Elijah was like a hoobae¹ who exuded the kind of aura that'd make people want to protect him. Rather than eliciting any romantic feelings, it seemed like her maternal instincts would kick in first.

'Jehardt is a household known to produce great swordsmen for generations upon generations, so you'd kinda expect that a descendant of such a household wouldn't be cute, but…'

Even if one were two thousand steps away from him, this guy still shone as brilliantly as ever.

"…Thank you, Reina."

"How does it feel now?"

As she swatted away her fleeting thoughts, Reina sat down next to Elijah, whose red face nodded up and down.

'Gosh, so refreshing though.'

Really, he's got the kind of atmosphere that's reminiscent of refreshing fruit pulp.

Even with him hesitating constantly, his actions were in accordance to a strange harmony with his appearance. He continued to emit an infinite amount of an innocent aura.

"Since when have you been stuck here?"

"…Since a while ago."

"What if everyone else already went back down?"

"The pain would have subsided over time…"

"So what you're saying is, you've just been sitting in this spot without thinking of a way out of your circumstances."

"..."

With his lack of an answer, Reina squeezed his eyes shut, leaning back against a tree trunk.

Then, a tearful voice reached her ears.

"Reina… Why haven't you gone? Why are you still here?"

Reina's eyes were closed up until that moment, but she soon opened them once more and stared back at the person who asked this question.

"..."

I know right.

Why was she still hanging out here?

"Mm…"

Now that it's come to this, should she just go for Elijah anyway?

"Mary, what's the name of the guy from one of the nine households, the one from House Jehardt? Do you know?"

"Yes, Milady. It's Elijah Jehardt."

Elijah was also one of the men on the 'broken engagement list'.

She just didn't have Elijah in mind until now because there were already three other candidates above him on that list.

'But heavens have been so very benevolent with how everything is being arranged for me…'

Then, wasn't it obvious that she's being told that she should start pursuing him?

Making up her mind in such a way, Reina tried to strike a conversation.

"I really hate games like this."

"Ah… Me, too."

His response wasn't all that bad either.

Reina looked at Elijah with wide, doe eyes.

"…Wait, why are you looking at me like that?"

As if her gaze was too burdensome for him, he asked awkwardly. But then, Reina scooted over her bum and sat closer to him.

"Eli."

And when she called him with a nickname, Elijah adorably jumped a little as his cute cheeks lit up in a peach-tinted blush.

"Oh my…"

What's with this rice cake-like cuteness? Seriously, his cuteness was off the charts.

Ah, crazy.

"…Eli."

But whatever. Her first priority here should be for them to get closer.

He's cute, yes, but wasn't he just too cute? C'mon.

"Since it's already like this, should I just stay with you?"

This Noona² will protect you.

¹ hoobae = underclassman (kouhai)

² noona = older sister // i've decided to just leave it be instead of translating it to 'Sister' since it sounds weird in this context lol